New Term Invitation! Exploring the Yamas - Five Guiding Principles
Hello everyone,
I want to say a huge thank you to each and every person who participated in the hatha yoga this term! I had so much fun practicing with you all and exploring the mysterious vayus together :) I am blown away by how big and beautiful these Sunday yoga classes have grown :) Thank you.
For everyone who is new to this space and these emails, welcome welcome welcome!
Our new yoga term will begin on Sunday August 24th, with Hatha Yoga running at the earlier time of 5pm, and the brand new Yin Yoga class starting at 6:30pm. I have new bolsters and wool blankets to make savasana in our hatha class as cosy as possible, and of course to support our deep stretch and fascia release in the yin yoga class. More details on the story and science of yin yoga coming in the next email :)
Sign ups are now open for both classes and spaces are filling up quickly! If you would like to save your spot, please let me know :) It will be a five-week term with an investment of €75 for the whole term, or €17 for a drop in class.
I love to keep our yoga classes at Thrive as accessible, beginner friendly, fun, light-hearted, and carefree as possible - so that it can be a time for your mind to take pause and your breath to take over... but there is so much to explore and say about yoga and yoga philosophy that I just cannot leave it there... I just can't! And so I write these weekly letters as a way to honour the roots of yoga and offer a gentle nudge for you to perhaps cultivate a deeper connection to the practice...if you're interested.
As you may know, every term I've facilitated at Thrive so far has been sequenced and designed around a yoga philosophy theme. If you've been practicing with me from the beginning then you'll have already explored and interpreted the elements, the first five chakras, the koshas, and even the vayus! This term, I am stripping it right back to basics and offering an exploration of the five yamas - the first five guiding principles of yoga.
The yamas are about setting a strong foundation and are the traditional place to begin a practice of yoga. This is ideal for newcomers (welcome!) and also a great place to understand and return to for seasoned practitioners. The yamas are simple, easy to follow, and massively impactful. This is a bit of the story...
Somewhere in Northern India around one thousand and six hundred years ago (!), a magical sage named Patanjali compiled the yoga sutras; a detailed collection of knowledge and instructions for the wise practice of yoga. Within these yoga sutras a structured path was outlined. It was called the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga. This was a journey of eight branches that, if followed and mastered, was said to lead the practitioner to experience samadhi (unconditional bliss) and enlightenment - freedom from suffering. The first of these limbs was called the yamas, a strict moral code of ethics for the practitioner to live by and master before journeying to the other limbs of yoga (which involved practices like sitting and meditating).
Now, up until recently, yoga was taught as a way of life and not as a fitness or wellness routine. It wasn't done in large groups, but rather learned quietly for years on end at the foot of an established guru. With that in mind, I am sharing the wisdom of the yamas in the modern context of our physical yoga practice on the mat, rather than as a way of life or as rules to live by. However, the parallel is there for you to explore, if you wish! I believe that everything we do on the mat that serves us can be practiced off the mat to serve us as well :)
Without further ado, here is the list of the five yamas:
1. Ahimsa - to cause no harm to oneself or others; to be conscious and compassionate.
2. Satya - to be truthful, aware, and forgiving of what is.
3. Asteya - to take only what is given freely; to not steal.
4. Brahmacharya - to understand and use your energy correctly.
5. Aparigraha - to practice non-attachment; to recognise and release ego where possible.
We will experience these yamas in class by working with sankalpas (intentions) throughout the term. Positive affirmations like: I am kind. I am true. I forgive. I allow. I am free. I am present...and so on! It's not always about what we do but about how we do it. The attitude. The way. The why...How you show up matters. And it's never too late to give it all up, forgive, and begin anew.
Okay, that's all from me! We are heading off in the van soon for our holidays...if you have any recommendations for west cork, I would love to hear them! And of course if you have yet to sign up for term and would like to, or if you have any questions at all, please get in touch :)
If you listen closely some morning, when the sun swells
Over the horizon and the world is still and still asleep,
You might hear it, a faint noise so far inside your mind
That it must come from somewhere, from light rushing to darkness,
Energy burning towards entropy, towards a peaceful solution,
Burning brilliantly, spontaneously, in the middle of nowhere,
And you, too, must make a sound that is somewhat like it,
Though that, of course, you have no way of hearing at all.
Excerpt by George Bradley, 1986
Le grá,
Macha
